false memories
by Constance Greene
Summary: They aren't real, so they can't hurt any. — RikuReplicaNaminé


Note.;;

This is the product of a write off ( random pairings matched with random lyrics for prompting ) with a friend. It was also timed, therefore it probably isn't as good as it should be.

KH is not mine.

**Naminé x Riku Replica  
**"_Memories like embers keep us warm."_

"And do you remember that time when . . ."

She carefully wound a bandage around his wrist and tied it into a delicate knot. There wasn't actually a time that he was talking about, as he sat with his feet out before him and hers gracefully tucked beneath her. She had made it all up, fake memories, and placed them in his mind. To torment him or her, she wasn't sure.

But as they sat there in the desolate hall, waiting for what would become of Sora as he ventured through the halls of the many-storied castle, he didn't seem to care whether they were real or not. He pushed that border away and believed what he wanted to believe, what felt good to him. When he had collapsed to the ground as she found him after a battle with Sora, she knew that the wounds couldn't feel good to him, so the memories had to do.

And he was elated to see her. She tried to keep a pleasant, even smile frozen on her face, thinking back to when Larxene had thrown him onto her drawing table and startled her, as if he were a rag doll, and told her to "make his nonexistent, pathetic excuse of a life a living hell," a little disturbed.

"—or when I gave you the ice cream cone after I stole it from Sora?"

Now her smile eased back into something that was less artificial and a little warmer. "I remember that time."

That was a memory she had only given to Riku's Replica, for some reason. Locked up in a white room all day, she got bored and had to stretch her brain _sometimes_. Most of his memories were just repeats of the ones she gave to Sora, because she was short on time. But the ice cream one . . .

"HereyougoNaminéIgotyouanicecreamandit'ssortameltywouldyouliketoeatit?"

"Riku! That's my ice cream; gimme it back!"

Naminé blinked and chuckled as Sora called from the top of the playhouse, gypped. Young Riku stood awkwardly before her, however, holding out an ice cream with a waffle cone, the ice melting into cream and making it more like a cream ice. He took a breath after saying his nervous speech, large ice blue eyes watching her expectantly.

"Mm," She dipped her golden-yellow head in a nod, "thank you, Riku."

Riku appeared as if he'd faint in his oversized shoes.

"Are there any more places that hurt?"

Riku Replica shook his head in a negative. "No. Now . . ." He stood up, a determined look set upon his face. "To go find Sora."

She lowered her eyes. "You aren't going to fight with him again, are you?"

"Of course I will! I hate him!" He seethed. "He's trying to take you away from me . . ."

On impulsive, Naminé reached out and touched his gloved hand. "Riku . . ."

He stared into her great globes of blue-grey, dazzled and entranced. His mind instantly reverted back to another memory.

"Zwoom! Zwoom! Zwoooom!"

Riku slashed his wooden sword around like a Jedi Knight with a light saber, showing off for Naminé. If she were to ask him what he was doing, he'd probably say 'Practicing to beat Sora, of course.'

The girl padded around the beach, the night's sky calm for now. It wasn't until she saw a glimmer of light by her eye that she started, wondering if it was a firefly or an actual flame being hurled at her by Satan for drawing too much. She worried about that a lot.

But as she looked up, she saw more of these shooting silver lights in the sky. She trembled, backing up and inevitably bumping into Riku.

"Huh?"

"Look!" She whispered, pointing.

He tilted his head back and gaped silently until he felt her shaking beside him.

"Naminé, what's wrong? They're just shooting stars."

She ducked her head around. "They . . . they won't hurt me, will they?"

He shook his head and laughed quietly. She didn't think he was laughing at her. "No! They stay in the sky. You see, the sky's really big . . ." He lapsed into silence. "You really think they'll hurt you, don't you?"

Without saying a word, she soundlessly nodded, squinting her eyes shut.

"It's okay," He said, taking her hand in one hand and raising his sword in the other. "If any of them do, I'll protect you!"

"You're just protecting me, right?" She added after his name softly, examining his hand that used to be partially bare in their memories. Bare and warm.

". . . Yeah." He made a sound of solemn agreement in his throat, and her nonexistent heart nearly broke. Because tomorrow there probably wouldn't be anymore memories to warm them, as tomorrow she'd be the one breaking his heart.


End file.
